CHAPTER XVIII.

REWARD OF THE RIGHTEOUS.

THE righteous at the judgment will be received into everlasting favor with God. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."* This will be the final benediction of the King, pronounced upon all the faithful from his glorious judgment throne.

"Come," says the enthroned King;-come to my heart, my confidence, my kingdom-where I am in my glory, there shall you be. "Ye blessed of my Father;"-not dependent on the blessing of man or angel, ye are blessed of God himself. "Inherit;"— favored heirs to an inheritance, ye are now to be put in possession. Of what? A "kingdom;"—and one "prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Let us contemplate this heavenly reward in its eleIt includes,

ments.

1. FULL COMMUNION WITH GOD. They are income" to God. They are to dwell in his

vited to

*Matt. xxv. 34.

presence, behold his glory, participate in his bliss. They are to have his entire confidence ;-they have been proved and found faithful. They are to have his cordial fellowship ;-God has tested their attachment, and is not ashamed to own them as his. They are to have his happiness ;-the very joys that thrill the bosom of the infinite Father, are to become theirs. The curse of exclusion and exile is repealed, the cherubim and flaming sword are removed, and the ransomed spirits return joyfully to inviting and blooming paradise. God himself will be with them, and will be their God.* Henceforth no frowning barrier shall rise, intercepting the free and sweet communion of the created with the uncreated Spirit;—the soul finds its home, its rest, in the bosom of its God.

2. COMPLETE EXEMPTION FROM SIN. "We shall be like him," says the apostle, "for we shall see him as he is." Our being like Christ, cannot mean that we shall partake of his natural attributes-his omnipotence, omnipresence, &c.; but that we shall be like him in character. Seeing the Saviour as he is, will banish all that remains of sin, transform the entire moral nature, and cause the ransomed spirit to shine in the unsullied beauties of holiness. Christians on earth hungered and thirsted after righteousness; now they are filled. "They shall walk with me in white," says Christ, for they are worthy." Accordingly the revelator, describing the holy and blissful state of the righteous, utters the voice of a great multitude, as the

*Rev. xxi. 3.

† 1 John iii. 2.

+ Rev. iii. 4.

And to her was granted

voice of many waters and of mighty thunderings, saying, "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.”* Not a profane or unbelieving thought, not a covetous or impure desire, not an unhallowed affection, will ever again alarm the conscience or disturb the sweet and hallowed tranquillity of the soul. In sinless, angelic beauty will the righteous forever shine, as the brightness of the firmament and as the stars forever and ever. Oh how changed! Here sin was their constant and mortal foe. It lurked beneath their fairest virtues, it tarnished their brightest deeds, it embittered their sweetest pleasures. It rendered life little else than a scene of conflict, of watching, and of grievous repentings. Now all these are over. The victory

is won; the crown sparkles on the conqueror's brow ;—and with a joy known only to a spirit that has come out of great tribulation, and been washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb, does he sing the battles ended and the storms past.

All

3. COMPLETE EXEMPTION FROM SUFfering. the causes of suffering, to which they were here subject, are removed. Sin, these mortal bodies, disappointments, griefs, bereavements, find no admission in heaven. "I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he

*Rev. xix. 8.

will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.' ""* Everlasting adieu to all the pangs of mortality, all the anxieties, sorrows, woes, which here held them in relentless vassalage and followed them down to the grave. There, in that glorious world, the righteous will contemplate with rapturous delight all toil ended, all struggles over, all perils past, all tears wiped away, and the healthful and joyous activity of all their powers forever.

The transformation of these bodies from corruptible to incorruptible, will be a mighty leap in bliss. Here we are in literal bondage to the flesh. We groan being burdened, not that we would be unclothed but clothed upon, that mortality may be swallowed up in life. "There is a spiritual body."+ Cheering truth to the spirit groaning under the ills of mortality. See that shining form, as it rises from the dust and ascends to meet its Lord in the air. It rises not from its cold bed maimed, diseased, enfeebled;—all traces of mortality and decay are removed;-the bright blush of the resurrection morning has lighted on that face, and immortal beauty sits smiling there. The kindling eye sweeps the broad field of its vision, and revels unre

strained, unimpaired, over the amplitude of Jehovah's works. We can hardly decide whether poetic beauty or enchanting truth hold pre-eminence in the inspired representation of the righteous entering the heavenly rest :-"These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.'

4.

CONGENIAL POSITION. Although the most essential part of heaven is within us, yet circumstances have their importance. Gabriel might be placed in such circumstances as to mar his joy, and Jesus Christ himself has been placed in such. Hence the Scriptures are careful to inform us, that the righteous will hereafter not only have the elements of heaven within them, but that they will also be placed in such circumstances as shall contribute to the highest measure of bliss. They will be placed in such relations to God, to his law, to angels, to their fellow beings, and to all other objects, as shall harmonize with the holy and large desires of their hearts. They will be where the glory of God shines with its most resplendent lustre. One whose eye was privileged to behold heaven describes it thus :-" And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory

Rev. vii. 14-17.